Base 14" Macbook Pro Vs Base Mac Studio

[iAdamator]

TL;DR: Considering my first Mac because I want to try an M1 and I want FCP. Debating between a Mac Studio (Base) that has the extra RAM (32GB) I'd like vs a Base MacBook Pro 14 that is a complete computer (Including excellent screen that I would benefit from for HDR editing) but only has 16GB of RAM. I want either device to last me at least 4 years.


Hey all

This is probably going to be a long one with lots of facets so bear with me.

I have been a PC Guy all my life. Never had a Mac, never wanted one. I do however have other Apple Products I can't imagine being without now (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch.) Ever since the introduction of the M1 series, I have been curious about a Mac. The primary reason is because I want to try Final Cut Pro. I have been holding out hope that it comes to the iPad, but that doesn't seem likely. I have tried to use LumaFusion but I think that only really works good for shorter projects. (I recently tried to edit a longer project in LumaFusion and one place I really didn't like the experience is organizing and renaming media.)

It's important to keep in mind my use for editing: My videos are strictly editing my families home videos. We have 2 young children and I take a lot of videos of them plus when we go on Vacations. Video editing is something I very much enjoy, but it is 100% a hobby and will always be a hobby. Even still, I do like to put thought and work into them in an attempt to make them half way entertaining. The videos I use are strictly from iPhone cameras, and currently that is 13 PRO which I shoot in 4K HDR/30. (HDR will come into play in a moment for part of my decision making.) I have a 6 year old PC I built with a 1070 GTX Card and 32 GB of RAM. I use a -less than legal- version of Premiere Pro and (as odd as it this may sound) I really would be fine BUYING a quality software like FCP because I refuse to do the Adobe Subscription thing. (I know there is also Da Vinci Resolve but I feel it's just way overkill and complicated for me.) I also just frankly really want to try FCP.

When I first got this "in my head" (as my wife would put it) I was thinking I would be happy with a Mac Mini with 16gb of RAM. I have no doubt that would serve my needs well for awhile. I actually did buy a Base 8GB Mac Mini just to try out the general MacOS as well as the free version of FCP. I haven't played with FCP too much because I keep obsessing and researching, but even the Base model seems fine. I am actually on it right now writing this. But from the little I have used the OS itself and FCP, it seems fine.

But I am also a tech guy at heart and keep wondering if I would he "Happy" with that or would I be wanting to upgrade in a year or two. (I have enough Apple devices I bug my wife to let me upgrade.) The past week or two I have been thinking of investing a bit more and getting the Mac Studio base model. It's way overkill for me, BUT I know it would help it last a long time before I would want/need to replace it. I would hope a Base Mac Studio would last me at least 4 years.

For either the Mac Mini or Studio I have my own MX Keys and MX Master 3 that let me pair with the Mac Mini/Studio no problem and let me switch between them and my PC with a button press so that's nice. I was excited at first that "all" I would need is either the Mac Mini or Studio and nothing else. I recently got 2 new monitors but they are not very high end, and are barely 400HDR. They work great for my everyday needs, but they certainly aren't "Good" HDR displays. On my windows PC, I don't even bother having HDR enabled. (Have it turned on for the Mac OS, though I doubt it's doing much.)

As I mentioned above, I edit home videos, and more recently, I now shoot run 4K HDR with Dolby Vision and I would like to edit (and see) my content in HDR/DV as well. So it got me thinking, that if I say my budget is roughly $2000, maybe I would be better off with a Base Model 14 inch MacBook Pro. That is (at last) what I would like your input on. I don't "need" a Laptop as most of my work would be at a desk...but at the same time I wouldn't mind it. I have an iPad Pro with the MK and I love having it at my desk in front of my MX keyboard just to quickly check non-work stuff during the day. (I am still working from home.) The MacBook might replace my iPad as my secondary computer for personal stuff during the day. I'd still keep my iPad though.

At this point, I would say the Mac Mini is out of the running. I know myself and would just want more immediately. (Even if I don't "need" it.)

The Mac Studio Base Model is more powerful and has more RAM. I admit the 32GB RAM is more appealing to me than the Base M1 Max. The one thing I am certain of is that ANY M1 would be fine for my needs, be it the Base M1, Pro, or of course the MAX that comes with the Mac Studio.

The big advantage of the MacBook Pro is that it comes with an excellent integrated screen that would of course be great for the HDR videos I want to make/edit. The only real downside is the 16gb of RAM. I'm unsure if I could convince my wife into the $400 upgrade to double it.

I feel it comes down to if I want the extra RAM in the Base Mac Studio or the screen (and the fact that it's a stand alone computer) in the MacBook Pro.)

I also really like the Magic Trackpad and am thinking of getting one for the Mac Studio so that adds to the price. If I got a MacBook, that wouldn't be an issue of course. Another point for the MacBook is I like the idea of the whole thing being a single unit to complete the experience. I won't need an external monitor or keyboard or anything. I think it might ultimately be a better experience for my first Mac.

So it comes down to a full laptop computer for $2k with only 16gb of RAM or a very powerful $2k computer where I will be using my subpar Monitor to edit HDR videos. (Can you even edit/color grade HDR with a monitor that can't really support it? I am still new to HDR video editing.)

Thank you for reading!

 

[darngooddesign]

I think its simple. If your goal is serious video editing then you want the M1-Max with 32GB RAM so your choices are the base Studio or the 14" MBP with that upgrade. The 14" M1-Max 10/24 MBP 32GB also comes with a 1TB drive and that computer is 2839 on Apple's education site; the link is in the footer and they don't require proof if you have it shipped. I think having a MBP will let you sit with the family instead of being tied to your computer desk.

However, from a hobby POV you would be fine with the base MBP; especially if your projects are not particularly complex with a ton of layers and effects. It just means that saving/exporting will take longer. I do think that upgrading the RAM is a good idea regardless.

If you sign up for an Apple Credit Card you earn cash back on the purchase and can get interest free monthly payments for a year. Not saying you can't find other deals but these exist from Apple.

With a family I get that this purchase is somewhat lavish, and the upgrades are a treat, but when viewed over five+ year ownership lifespan the monthly costs aren't that great.

 

[elmateo487]

From a hobby perspective, the M1 mini with 16GB does REALLY well.

IMO export speeds don’t matter for a hobbyist. Only timeline performance. And the M1 does very well. Not perfect, it can drop frames, but it’s way better than past Macs.

So IMO. Buy whatever you want for longevity. They all will do what you want to varying degrees.

I would buy a used 512GB 16GB Mac Mini for 800 bucks on eBay. And use that for a while. Wait a few years to see what Apple does, then buy that.

 

[darngooddesign]

Another option is one of the 13" M1 laptops with a nicer external display.

 

[iAdamator]

From a hobby perspective, the M1 mini with 16GB does REALLY well.

IMO export speeds don’t matter for a hobbyist. Only timeline performance. And the M1 does very well. Not perfect, it can drop frames, but it’s way better than past Macs.

So IMO. Buy whatever you want for longevity. They all will do what you want to varying degrees.

I would buy a used 512GB 16GB Mac Mini for 800 bucks on eBay. And use that for a while. Wait a few years to see what Apple does, then buy that.

I'm heavily leaning towards a MacBook Pro. Primarily due to it having a display that can actually show the HDR content I want to edit. I also like the idea of having a "Complete" system from Apple where I don't need to provide my own parts that are not up to the quality that the Laptop would have on it's own...such as an external display.

 

[iAdamator]

I think its simple. If your goal is serious video editing then you want the M1-Max with 32GB RAM so your choices are the base Studio or the 14" MBP with that upgrade. The 14" M1-Max 10/24 MBP 32GB also comes with a 1TB drive and that computer is 2839 on Apple's education site; the link is in the footer and they don't require proof if you have it shipped. I think having a MBP will let you sit with the family instead of being tied to your computer desk.

However, from a hobby POV you would be fine with the base MBP; especially if your projects are not particularly complex with a ton of layers and effects. It just means that saving/exporting will take longer. I do think that upgrading the RAM is a good idea regardless.

If you sign up for an Apple Credit Card you earn cash back on the purchase and can get interest free monthly payments for a year. Not saying you can't find other deals but these exist from Apple.

With a family I get that this purchase is somewhat lavish, and the upgrades are a treat, but when viewed over five+ year ownership lifespan the monthly costs aren't that great.

Thank you for the reply! I was planning on taking advantage of the Education pricing and I do have an Apple Card already.

If I go MacBook Pro, which I am heaving leaning towards, I am really considering the 32GB of RAM. I have also started considering getting 1TB of storage, but that I am still more torn on. I have a 512 GB Samsung T7 I originally bought for editing via my iPad that I could and would repurpose to the MacBook instead. I just know how much faster the internal drive is vs any external and I don't know if I make due with the 512 and say $200 or just get 1TB so I have that extra storage.

 

[elmateo487]

Thank you for the reply! I was planning on taking advantage of the Education pricing and I do have an Apple Card already.

If I go MacBook Pro, which I am heaving leaning towards, I am really considering the 32GB of RAM. I have also started considering getting 1TB of storage, but that I am still more torn on. I have a 512 GB Samsung T7 I originally bought for editing via my iPad that I could and would repurpose to the MacBook instead. I just know how much faster the internal drive is vs any external and I don't know if I make due with the 512 and say $200 or just get 1TB so I have that extra storage.

If you will be keeping the computer for more than a few years, definitely get the 32GB. Itll last way longer.

 

[iAdamator]

If you will be keeping the computer for more than a few years, definitely get the 32GB. Itll last way longer.

What are your thoughts on spending a bit more for 1TB of internal storage vs just getting an external SSD? Like I mentioned, I have a 512 Samsung T7 already so with the base model 512 and my T7, I have combined total of 1 TB already. Thing is I can't get past how fast the internal drive is and I gotta think that would help for editing. However I have been working off the SSD when using the T7 and it's seemed fine despite its speed being nothing compared to the internal drive. When I do the Black magic disco test, the only thing the T7 fails at is editing "10 Bit YUV 422" 4k60 footage. I'm not sure what format an iPhone 13 Pro shoots at but I only use 30 FPS and in my testing of editing from the T7, things seem fine...so far.

 

[elmateo487]

My thoughts are you should see how much space you’ll use for the life of the device.

If it fits under 1TB get the TB, if it goes over you’ll likely keep going over so just get 512 and a fast external drive.

It’s expensive to keep buying the storage upgrades every machine. Having a fast usb external 1TB drive is much cheaper and portable.

It is nice to have everything just on the computer and backed up though.

If you think you won’t fill 1TB get it.

 

[Sirmausalot]

What are your thoughts on spending a bit more for 1TB of internal storage vs just getting an external SSD? Like I mentioned, I have a 512 Samsung T7 already so with the base model 512 and my T7, I have combined total of 1 TB already. Thing is I can't get past how fast the internal drive is and I gotta think that would help for editing. However I have been working off the SSD when using the T7 and it's seemed fine despite its speed being nothing compared to the internal drive. When I do the Black magic disco test, the only thing the T7 fails at is editing "10 Bit YUV 422" 4k60 footage. I'm not sure what format an iPhone 13 Pro shoots at but I only use 30 FPS and in my testing of editing from the T7, things seem fine...so far.

Actually your most limiting factor is screen real estate. 16gb and any M1 is likely fine for what you do, a Pro being preferred. But a 14" screen is super limiting, no matter the HDRness of it. The best editing setup is a two screen one. Why are you not looking at the iMac? And you should put your footage on an external drive and only render out finished videos to your internal drive.

 

[darngooddesign]

Actually your most limiting factor is screen real estate. 16gb and any M1 is likely fine for what you do, a Pro being preferred. But a 14" screen is super limiting, no matter the HDRness of it. The best editing setup is a two screen one. Why are you not looking at the iMac? And you should put your footage on an external drive and only render out finished videos to your internal drive.

I think he really wants a laptop. You are likely correct about the regular 16GB M1 being fine so I think getting a refurbished 16GB 1TB 13" and a nice external, HDR-capable display makes a lot of sense.

 

[russell_314]

Actually your most limiting factor is screen real estate. 16gb and any M1 is likely fine for what you do, a Pro being preferred. But a 14" screen is super limiting, no matter the HDRness of it. The best editing setup is a two screen one. Why are you not looking at the iMac? And you should put your footage on an external drive and only render out finished videos to your internal drive.

I'd have to agree with this... You need a larger quality monitor. You're wanting to spend your entire budget on processing power you don't need but then forgetting about the thing you visually see and interact with. You can buy a $50k Mac Pro but if you're working with a terrible or too small screen it's not going to be pleasant. From personal experience a better monitor makes it so much more enjoyable to use. I went from a terrible 32" Samsung monitor with a Mac mini to my 24" iMac and would never want to go back to a crap display again. You could get by with the 24" iMac but in reality you probably would want a 27" or larger screen(s)

If you want a MacBook for portability with other tasks that's fine but you really need an external monitor to dock it to.

 

[MajorFubar]

You might find FCP over the top if all you're doing is editing home movies. iMovie, provided free, is surprisingly versatile for simplistic tasks. Sorry that's not directly answering your question but I might just save you the price of FCP, which is not cheap. (If your only experience of free video editing software has been Windows Movie Maker I can forgive you for thinking the Apple equivalent is not worth your time. iMovie couldn't be further removed from WMM.)

 

[iAdamator]

My thoughts are you should see how much space you’ll use for the life of the device.

If it fits under 1TB get the TB, if it goes over you’ll likely keep going over so just get 512 and a fast external drive.

It’s expensive to keep buying the storage upgrades every machine. Having a fast usb external 1TB drive is much cheaper and portable.

It is nice to have everything just on the computer and backed up though.

If you think you won’t fill 1TB get it.

I don't usually do a multi-quote so I hope I did this right. First off to all of you, THANK you. This topic has ballooned more than I expected and I realize it's going to come down to me in the end, what I really want/need, and how much we want to spend. The trouble with the money is that I don't really have a budget, BUT I have a very practical wife who doesn't just want me to buy something because I can. And if I do buy anything, she wants me to USE IT.

So to start out with, one good thing is I pretty much decided no matter what I end up getting as far as a Mac goes, 512 GB would be fine. I'm only editing iPhone videos which are small to begin with, and this computer wouldn't be needed to keep anything long term. I wouldn't store photos on it, or music, or anything like that. It would mainly just be used to edit my current video, whatever it may be, and then all the files would be offloaded/backed up to an external. So as far as storage goes, 512 would be enough...probably more than enough.

Actually your most limiting factor is screen real estate. 16gb and any M1 is likely fine for what you do, a Pro being preferred. But a 14" screen is super limiting, no matter the HDRness of it. The best editing setup is a two screen one. Why are you not looking at the iMac? And you should put your footage on an external drive and only render out finished videos to your internal drive.

My local Best Buy had an open box Base Model MacBook Pro 14 with 16 Gb on RAM on open Box for $1750. I bought it yesterday morning and since I had the day off I got to do what my wife has been begging me to do: Instead of researching to death and talking about it, I actually USED a Mac...and more importantly, used FCP for more than 2 seconds. (The Free trial version.) I began editing the exact type of footage I want a Mac and FCP for: 4K HDR/Dolby Vision Footage shot on an iPhone 13 Pro. I purposely began editing video from our recent trip to Disneyland because it's a lot of footage and indicative of the longer videos I'll want to edit.

My wife later saw me editing on the MacBook and said I looked ridiculous editing on this little 14 inch laptop when my 2 27 inch monitors were literally in front of me. Her saying that has got me second guessing the whole MacBook idea.

To answer your question about the iMac, I have not considered one because I don't have any room for a new monitor. The 2 monitors I have now, Dell 2721DGF's, I barely got 6 months ago. I use them for work while working from home, as well as for my own PC. They are 1440p and very low end HDR, but they are HDR...technically. Previously I had 2 24 inch 1080 Monitors. I'm not in the market for a new monitor because I just got these.

I think he really wants a laptop. You are likely correct about the regular 16GB M1 being fine so I think getting a refurbished 16GB 1TB 13" and a nice external, HDR-capable display makes a lot of sense.

I didn't necessarily want a laptop, I just thought it would be another way to spend the potential $1800 I was considering for a Mac Studio. Getting the MacBook solves the problem of having a good display to edit HDR Video I like I want...but also introduces me having a Laptop that I technically don't need (to be a Laptop.)

I'd have to agree with this... You need a larger quality monitor. You're wanting to spend your entire budget on processing power you don't need but then forgetting about the thing you visually see and interact with. You can buy a $50k Mac Pro but if you're working with a terrible or too small screen it's not going to be pleasant. From personal experience a better monitor makes it so much more enjoyable to use. I went from a terrible 32" Samsung monitor with a Mac mini to my 24" iMac and would never want to go back to a crap display again. You could get by with the 24" iMac but in reality you probably would want a 27" or larger screen(s)

If you want a MacBook for portability with other tasks that's fine but you really need an external monitor to dock it to.

Already having 2 monitors, I simply don't have space for an iMac. I would need to get rid of one of my monitors which seems rather wasteful. I would also need the iMac to be able to be a display for a few other computers. Could it even do that?

You might find FCP over the top if all you're doing is editing home movies. iMovie, provided free, is surprisingly versatile for simplistic tasks. Sorry that's not directly answering your question but I might just save you the price of FCP, which is not cheap. (If your only experience of free video editing software has been Windows Movie Maker I can forgive you for thinking the Apple equivalent is not worth your time. iMovie couldn't be further removed from WMM.)

Even though my editing is pretty basic, I would say it's a step or two above iMovie. Matter of fact I booted up iMovie earlier this morning to check it out and I just I don't believe I'd be happy using it. I can't even get past the media management on it. With our trip videos, I usually have over 100 video clips and I like to rename and organize them in order to cut my video together. You really don't get any way to organize footage in iMovie that I could see.

I've used Premiere Pro for years and know my way around it. I hate the subscription model though and so have resorted to getting it by other means. I know this sounds odd, but I'm at a point in my life where I am happy to pay for actual software. I know FCP is overkill, but I would not mind buying it at all. In the 2-3 hours I did of editing yesterday, which admittedly wasn't much more than cataloguing my footage, I did like what I saw of FCP and found It easy to navigate and get around in. Definitely want to keep going with my project.

My wife isn't really on board with any of this as she is worried I won't do all the editing I say I will. She doesn't want me to spend money on any of this and then not use whatever I get. I've been giving it a lot of thought today and I believe a compromise might be the best result where everyone is somewhat happy.

To that end, I am back to thinking of my original option of a Mac mini...or at most a Mac Studio and either way making due with my own monitors.

For the Mac mini I'd likely get 16 GB with 512 GB storage refurbished for about $1k. If I did splurge on the Mac Studio, I'd get the base model. The studio is being considered just because I know it would last a damn long time. (and my wife hates when I want to upgrade an Apple product!)

I only really wanted the MacBook because it has a nice screen (and it IS nice.) which I thought would help me in editing my HDR Footage. But maybe I can get around that.

This may be out of scope for this forum, but it's really hard to find information from people who actually edit the HDR Footage from an iPhone and want to keep it in HDR. I do not need to do any fancy color correcting. I mostly just chop up footage, add transitions, some effects, music, titles, and that's about it. Do I need a fancy HDR monitor to view my footage if I am going to do little to no color correcting? With the iPhone shooting in Dolby Vision, does it even need any "correcting?"

What I am getting at is, maybe I don't need a high end HDR monitor if I only need to output my end video to HDR, keeping the color and HDR as it was originally shot. Would I be able to get by with the basic HDR Monitors I have?

(I DO have an OLED TV downstairs, so we do have a way to actually view my end results.)

That's all from me. Thanks everyone!

 

[darngooddesign]

So Im not a video editor and I probably have thew terms wrong, but can you place the timeline across one or two monitors and use the MBP's screen to preview the video so you can view the HDR edits on it. That would let you use each screen for what it does best.

 

[iAdamator]

So Im not a video editor and I probably have thew terms wrong, but can you place the timeline across one or two monitors and use the MBP's screen to preview the video so you can view the HDR edits on it. That would let you use each screen for what it does best.

Yeah you can do that. I even thought about doing just that. But I think I'm trying to get away from the idea of the MacBook. As nice as that screen is....

 

[darngooddesign]

Perhaps the 16GB Mac Mini is the way to go.

If you have the Mini-LED iPad you can use that as an external display via sidecar to preview your HDR edits.

 

[iAdamator]

Perhaps the 16GB Mac Mini is the way to go.

If you have the Mini-LED iPad you can use that as an external display via sidecar to preview your HDR edits.

To my knowledge Sidecar doesn't support HDR. (I wish it did.) I actually had thought of this and got excited about the idea before I even bought the MacBook but sadly the quality that Sidecar outputs doesn't seem to be that great.

(I have the 2020 iPad Pro but it still supports HDR so this would have been a good option otherwise.)

 

[iAdamator]

Wanted to share a quick update. I actually don't know if this might be better off in a new thread.

Days later, I am still unfortunately unsure of what the best option is for me. I'm honestly torn between being happy with my purchase, wanting to somewhat please my wife and keep the cost of this craziness down, and what's the best device for and my needs now and in a few years.

About the only thing I am 100% sure on is that I don't need a Laptop computer and that a desktop would serve my needs (and my workspace) much better.

With that I am down to a Base model Mac Studio or a M1 Mac Mini upgraded to 16GB of Storage and a 512 SSD.

I am sure the Mini would handle my editing needs. iPhone footage 4K timelines that will mostly be 1 layer with maybe a second depending on what effects I am doing. Depending on if I am editing video from a trip, the video could be over 20 minutes, but even still it will be a basic video.

My workflow for what I want this to do wont likely change drastically (Or really at all) in the coming years.

Could I expect a Mac Mini to perform well and comfortably last me 3 years? Is that a realistic number?
If I went with the studio, I'm thinking 5+ would be more than reasonable. Does that sound right?

I'm love tech and always want the best. But in this case, I really do want to get my new apple device but also not anger the wife. We can afford either, and my wife just wants me to use whatever I buy, even if it is the more expensive one. She wants me to be happy with my purchase.

 

[macsound1]

I know you're excited about HDR content, but something I learned by accident is making HDR content look normal for every other device.
I shot some video on my iPhone 12 about a repair that was needed for my landlord. When I uploaded it to youtube I realized it was completely blown out, but I didn't notice before since I was using a 14" MBP with a HDR display.

While I love that HDR is a feature, it's not well enough documented how to enable or disable it based on your end format requirements.

 

[iAdamator]

"My wife isn't really on board with any of this as she is worried I won't do all the editing I say I will. She doesn't want me to spend money on any of this and then not use whatever I get. I've been giving it a lot of thought today and I believe a compromise might be the best result where everyone is somewhat happy."

I stand corrected. One paragraph and you, being the expert at relationships that you clearly are, have recommended I look into counseling. Thank you, random internet person on a tech forum, for your sage advice. Thank you.

 

[profcutter]

If you don’t need the portability, a studio will give you more bang for the buck. The entry level should be more than adequate. As for HDR, that seems like more of a sticky situation. I mostly shoot with a Gh4, so HDR isn’t an issue for me. As far as iPhone HDR, I have no experience, so nothing useful to add. I will say that again, if you don’t need the portability, using a desktop is actually quite freeing.

 

[Diablo360]

All depends on how much you value portability. although having the option to lug it around is nice too if you can spend a little more

 

[iAdamator]

I'm sorry this thread got a bit derailed for a bit. I'm also sorry to say I was moving away from this decision but have recently come back to it. I've basically given myself a budget of around $2000 and it's come down to the Base Mac Studio vs the Base Macbook Pro 14 with no upgrades (so sticking with 16 GB of RAM)

Undoubtedly the Studio is more powerful. But what I keep coming back to is...what item will I actually enjoy more? I will admit I do not need a Laptop. BUT for some reason, any time I have ever thought about buying my first Mac, I always picture buying a Laptop. I don't exactly know why that is. Maybe it's just the idea of getting a "complete" computer vs a Box I need to add my own peripherals to. Something that just makes the Studio..unappealing.

I have done so much research and it all tells me that for my needs, the Base Macbook would be 100% fine and will last for years. There isn't a single spec in the Studio I need. I was really stuck on the 32 GB of RAM but the more I read, the more I understand that 16 GB in a Mac acts a lot like 32 in other systems.

Another factor is the savings of a base Macbook 14 vs speccing it up to 32 GB. The base model is often on sale for a few hundred off so upping the ram to 32 would increase the price over $500. All for something I really may not need.

Then there is wanting this device to last. The Studio may be more than I need...but it would sure last a long time. That's for sure.

In the end, I keep coming back to the laptop. I don't need it for portability or anything, but I think I will enjoy the experience more. The screen is SO nice and would be so nice to edit HDR Footage on. I think I rather use the smaller laptop screen due to it's quality over my 2 27 inch Monitors that can't compare quality wise.

Such a tough choice!

 

[darngooddesign]

Your rationale sounds good, but I suggest you go for the 1TB SSD. MacOS pretty effortlessly uses Swap so you will want to have a lot of free space after installing apps, media, and files. Also, hanging an external drive from your laptop is awkward when not sitting at a desk. Having 1TB will help it feel like a self-contained computer.

Here is the base 14" for $250 off.

Deals: Apple's 14-Inch MacBook Pro Available for Record Low Price of $1,749.99 ($249 Off)

Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Pro, 8-core CPU, 512GB) has returned to its previous all-time low price of $1,749.99, down from...

www.macrumors.com